What Becomes of Us
by multixwriter
Summary: [15x9] It all started when they were stuck inside of that elevator. My take on Merluca, with resistance and romance intertwined between the two.
1. Elevator Realizations

Meredith could feel her skin crawling, her ears ringing with the low tones of DeLucas voice and their conversation from earlier, the warmth of his body seemingly still in front of her, the feeling intoxicating. She didn't want to _feel_ what she was feeling, and she sure as hell didn't need to stir up _another_ romantic issue. She had finally gotten the sex dreams out of her system, no longer waking up with a cold sweat and the ghost feeling of his hands on her body, his lips pressed to her own. She no longer felt like an awkward teenager when she and DeLuca met eyes from across a patient bed or the Emergency Room, her hands no longer shaky when she reaches across him over an open patient to retrieve an organ or an instrument from a scrub nurse. She no longer felt the feeling of his lips on hers and his hands holding her face on Alex and Jo's wedding day, finally being able to meet his gaze with a confident one of her own.

She stepped onto the elevator, easing her breaths, the transplant surgery on CeCe making her chest feel tight. She reached out to press the _close door_ button, when they slid a couple centimeters in before sliding back out.

"Hey—"

DeLuca held the door open with his hand, Merediths eyes wide with shock and surprisement. "No—!" Meredith begins, shaking her head as she watches him step into the elevator, her heart beginning to slam against her rib cage in the annoying way it has been whenever he got too close. "What, I-I'm going to the OR," DeLuca begins, before she shakes her head. "No! You're following me," she shoots back, her eyes staring straight ahead, her hands and arms locked at her sides. "I'm going to your OR, I'm on the case—"

She hears him sigh, his body brushing past hers. "Okay, uh, I will stand over here. And I will be silent, and I will not look at you," DeLuca says, as she pressed the _close door_ button again, her pulse beginning to race as she feels his gaze fall onto the back of her head. He rests back against the wall of the elevator easily, her arms coming to cross across her chest as she ignores the heat burning through her clothes from his stare.

Agonizingly slow moments pass, the elevator seemingly knowing the tension between the two inside of the elevator. She was just about to stop the elevator and take the stairs, when the lights flicked off, and their elevator car slammed to halt, the ground uneasy beneath her feet. She turns around to see DeLuca clutching the hand railing, his eyes wide as he looks around, before his gaze lands on hers. "What's happening?" She asks quietly, waiting for the emergency lights to kick on, her adrenaline pumping faster when they don't. "I'm sure we're fine. It's probably due to the storm," DeLuca says calmly, and her pulse slows when the emergency lights flicker on, the buzz of the elevator no longer there. "See. We're fine," he says quietly, but she turns on her heel, shaking her head.

Her thumb jabs into every single button on the elevator panel, before she sighs, giving up. "I uh, think we're stuck," DeLuca says from behind her, and she can hear the grin in his voice. She turns to see him walking toward her, stopping in front of her with a surpressed smile of amusement. "I can't be, I have to be in surgery. I have to procure a heart for CeCe. Maggie is waiting for us—!" Meredith begins, pacing the room with an agitated sigh, DeLuca following with a sigh of his own. "I can't be in here!" She says louder this time, pounding on the elevator doors. "You gotta get us out of here," she says, attempting to press the buttons again before resting her forehead on the elevator with a sigh.

"Alright, uh—" DeLuca thinks out loud, as she shakes her head. "I have a transplant!" She complains again, and turns when she hears him shuffling behind her. She watches him clutch the support railing in his right hand, the other holding the mounted picture frame. He hoists himself onto the railing, leaning against the light fixture above them. Her eyes widen as she watches him, shaking her head. "What are you doing?" She asks with an agape jaw, his hand pulling at the caged light with a grunt. "Well, under this light fixture, there should be a trap door, somewhere," He says, his eyes set on the light above them.

"What? No!" Meredith says with a shake of her head, watching as peers down at her. Her hands instinctively outstretch before her when he grunts, slipping slightly off the railing. His hands clutched the picture frame and the light, his small grin at her act of kindness making her give him a look. He hops off the railing, and she stares at him. "You're not doing some action hero crap where you climb up an elevator shaft," She berates him, but all he can do is grin down at her. "I meant use your phone," she says, turning around to sigh again.

"Well, I don't get any signal in here," DeLuca says and she groans. "Well, neither do I!" She hears DeLuca sigh. "Then why did you ask me to get us out of here?" He asks her, and she turns around, facing him again. "Because I. . ." She trails off, her breaths becoming more labored as she stares at him, his slight head tilt and smile making her feel infuriated. He gave her a look as if he knew what she was feeling towards him, and she shook her head pushing away from him. ". . .cant be in here!" She finishes, banging on the elevator doors again.

"Help!"

She continues to pound on the door, feeling Delucas gaze on her. "Doing that isn't helping anything," he says, and she pushes away from the doors, leaning against the back wall with her arms crossed. She watches him pace back and forth, the silence deafening between them. She stares at the ground between her feet, but she can feel his lingering gazes on her. "Stop that," she says, looking up, watching as his lips curled up into a smile. "Stop what?" He asks with mock innocence, continuing to pace in the small space. "Looking at me," she says and he lets out a breathy laugh, shaking his head. "It's a small room. There's not much to look at," He says, but she gives him a look and he stops his pacing. "You know what I mean." He just nods, walking towards her. "Okay. I'll stand over here where I can't look at you," He says, stepping right beside her, his hands dug into the pockets on his scrub pants.

She can feel the heat radiating off his body, his arm brushing hers as he relaxes back against the wall of the elevator. She sighs again, looking down. "I just hate not knowing what's going on out there," she says quietly, drawing his gaze back onto her. "I can tell you what's going on out there," he says, and she looks at him, his eyes landing on hers before she looks away. "Maggie's probably already started on CeCes heart transplant, 'cause Bailey or Webber or _literally_ anyone else already did the organ recovery. And that same person is gonna do the kidney transplant. You're a brilliant surgeon Meredith, but this procedure only requires _a_ surgeon." He says and she nods once, feeling a calm rush through her body.

"Thanks, I think," she says, looking at him again, both of them lightly smiling as silence fills the room again. "Thank you," she murmurs quietly, her gaze falling to the floor when he looks at her, her gaze set on his shoes. She finds her eyes slowly trailing up the material of his light blue scrubs, before her eyes meet his own, her head turning in the opposite direction. She only then looks back at him when he starts to laugh, her confused expression on his joyous one. "It's like the _tardis_ in Doctor Who—"

Meredith continues to look at him in confusion, her head slight shaking. "Is that some nerd thing? Because I'm not fluent." He just chuckles again, shifting beside her. "No, I mean, me neither, but I used to watch it when I was a kid in Italy." He tells her, smiling fondly at the memory. "Doctor Who had this uh, phone booth that was a time machine, and when you stepped inside, you were like, outside of time and space." She finds herself smiling, watching his mouth when he talked, and watching his eyes sparkle when he spoke. "And the world went on, but you were in this whole other little. . .bubble—a secret place where the normal rules don't apply." His voice was now a whisper, his gaze set on her as she stares at the elevator doors, shaking her head at him.

She smiles slightly when she looks at him, his gaze still transfixed on her. "The rules still apply. This isn't the _turdis_."

"_Tardis_."

"Whatever."

Silence again filled the elevator, before she shifted, looking around the room. "This blows. I wanted to be the one who did CeCes transplant," Meredith says, sinking to the floor. DeLuca sat beside her, sighing. "How about we don't talk about work." He says and she gives him a look. "We _are_ at work." She says and he's the one to give her a look this time. "Let's pretend we're in the _tardis_. No work talk." She just stares at the floor between her knees, shaking her head. "I'm not talking about myself," she says quietly and he chuckles. "I knew that already. Hit me," He says and she looks at him. "What do you want to know about me?" He asks her and she thinks.

"Why was it such a surprise that your sister came to visit?" She asks him, and he looks at her. "My parents, they uh, didn't work out. Carina and I were split between the two of them, meaning that our parents could only have one of us, and so Carina stayed back with my father, and I moved out here with my mom." Meredith nods, glancing at him. "Why'd your mom leave?" He's silent for a second before he meets her gaze. "I—my dad is, uh, _was_ a pretty famous surgeon back in Italy."

"Wow. I wouldn't know anything about having famous surgeon parents," Meredith jokes, both of them smiling, before his fades. "You wouldn't. Your mom got awards. My dad got, acquittals." He sighs, silence again filling the room. He looks at her, his gaze slightly lingering, making her pulse race again. "I've never really told anyone about him," he whispers quietly, and she nods. "Oh, well, you can if you want too."

"I don't think that I do."

"I mean, I just meant that you could if you wanted too, and it wouldn't leave this room," she says and he gives her a look. "Because I don't think we're ever leaving this room," she laughs and so does he, both of them actually, real laughing. All too soon it dies, and they're back to sitting in silence. "Mio padre ha una malattia mentale. (_My father has a mental illness_.) In una fase maniacale, ha operato su sette pazienti. (_In a manic phase, he operated on seven patients_.) Nessuna pausa, niente sonno, niente cibo. (_No break, no sleep, no food._) Quattro persone sono morte. Per colpa sua. (_Four people died. Because of him_.) Ma tra i suoi soldi e i suoi amici se l'è cavata." (_But between his money and his friends he got away with it._) Meredith listened to him, straining to understand what he was saying. She got most of it, her experience in Italian doing her well.

"But he's also the man who took me on the back of his motorbike and taught me how to kick a soccer ball, taught me the names of the stars." He says, and she can only listen. "So, it's complicated." He lets out a small breathy laugh, and inhales a deep breath. "There. I told somebody," he says in a mere whisper, and she finds herself smiling as she twists her hands on her knees. "Thanks," he whispers again, gently nudging her arm. Her head turns to face his again, his eyes trained on her mouth, falling down to her chin before they're on her eyes, both of their breaths coming quicker. A long moment of silence passes, and she can feel him move in slightly forward, making her swallow roughly. She leans forward too, his eyes slightly widening when her face gets close to his, making him intake a sharp breath. She instead pushes herself into a standing position, digging her hands into her pockets, enjoying the look of shock on his face.

"Do you really think there's a trap door up there?" She asks and he chuckles breathily, resting his face into his palm, regaining his composure. "I'm serious!" She says, watching as he stood up, standing beside her as he peers up. "I couldn't see anything, and I nearly fell to my death doing so," he jokes, and she laughs nudging him. "Here let me try," she says but he grabs her arm, shaking his head. "No. You're not getting up there to act like an action hero," he says and she sighs, giving him a look. "Then how're we getting out of here?" She asks and he shakes his head. "Fine. C'mere—" He says and she warily looks at him, making him sigh. "Do you trust me?" He asks her and she hesitantly nods, and walks back toward him.

She stands in front of him, her eyes widening when he ducks down. "DeLuca what're you—" she begins before he picks her up from under her waist, moving her head before it was slammed into the light fixture. "There. Now, try and look to see if there's anything there," he says and she nods. "Do you feel anything?" He asks her and she lets out a soft grunt, her hand clutching his shoulder while the other fished around for the trap door. "There should be like a-a handle or something," He says and she sighs. "It might be a keyhole. Like, it feels like I need a key—" she says and he sighs, lowering her. "Damn it—" He mutters, slowly bringing her down to the ground. Once her feet touched the ground, he still held her around the waist, her arms sliding from around his neck to his chest.

"Remind me again why this is such a bad idea for us?" He asks her, their close proximity making her feel anxious. "Because it's a bad idea," she says queitly, her eyes the ones trained on his lips. "No, I hear you. I'm just asking _why_," he says and she shakes her head. "Because I'm an attending and you're a resident," she says and he stares at her, swallowing. "And that happens all the time," he says quietly his eyes searching hers. "It happened for you, I think." He says and she sighs. "Well, I'm trying to learn from my mistakes," she says and he laughs a little. "I promise not to tell your kids that you called them that."

She laughs with a scoff, pushing on his chest as she walks backwards with a shocked smile. "My marriage and my kids aren't a mistake," she says, leaning back against the wall of the elevator. "Then what are you learning, exactly?" He asks her and she finds herself going quiet. She stares at the floor, before shaking her head. "I don't know," she says quietly, before looking at him. "Just go back to speaking Italian. I liked it better."

"Quando finalmente ti lascio baciare (_when you finally let me kiss you_), e tu mi lascerai baciare (_and you will let me kiss you_), e non fermerò mai." (_I won't ever stop_). Meredith watched him walk closer to her, his gaze locked on hers as he rested his palm by her head against the wall, caging her in between him and the wall. His other rested at her waist, gently playing with the loose material of her shirt towards the bottom. Her heart hammered against her ribcage, her breaths shallow as he stared at her, their breaths intermingled. "Ti ho detto che ho preso tre anni, di italiano in universital?" (_Did I tell you I took three years of Italian in undergrad_?)

"Wow," he whispers hoarsely, his eyes flicking between hers as she gives off a shy smile, swallowing roughly. "Yeah," she murmurs with a smile, his mouth open in amazement and adoration. He leans a little closer to her, her hand hesitantly coming to rest on the back of his neck, his hand by her waist now cupping her cheek, both of their labored breaths the only thing she could focus on. The anticipation between the very little space between them was electric, his eyes flicking to hers one last time before hers closed, his lips soft and firm against hers. She let herself relax, her other hand clutching his bicep, as his hand that was braced against the wall held her face with his other one, the kiss breathtaking. He pulled back only to kiss her again, more passionately, his mouth opening over hers to kiss her deeper.

His hands trailed down her arms to pull her closer, her hands clutching the soft dark locks at the base of his neck, her body hot and flushed against his. She pulled back from him, panting, her eyes wide and trained on his. "What—" She begins, before he gives her his signature head tilt and knowing smile, her heart a thundering mess under her breastbone. "Don't pretend you don't feel it too," He says quietly, his arms around her waist as he leans down to kiss the skin of her cheek, his nose turning her head to the side so he could drop kisses onto her neck. "There's something here, Meredith." _another kiss._ "You just have," _another kiss_, "to let yourself," _another kiss_, "feel it." _another kiss._

"I can't," she says in a pained gasp, her fingers digging into the skin of his arms, his head tilting further as he gently nips her neck. She could feel her pulse getting sporadically faster, making distinguishing dreams from reality nearly impossible. _Had he really taken them to the tardis? Because it felt like they were stuck in time, thoughts of being anywhere but there mind boggling_. "You can," he whispers back, brushing his nose across hers, his head hesitantly turning to kiss her lips again, before she shakes her head. No matter how badly she wanted it, she couldn't. "It's a bad idea," she tells him, her head leaning against the wall to avoid succumbing into his touch. He sighs, slowly pulling back, his hands reluctantly falling from around her waist.

She clears her throat, watching him shove his hands into his pockets, his head down and his gaze on the floor. The small space made her feel trapped, as she walked back over to the doors, jamming her thumbs into the buttons again, _praying_ that they'd turn on. "They're not going to work, Meredith." DeLucas voice held a certain tone that made her heart ache, before she sighed, leaning her forehead against the doors. "Link asked me out for drinks tonight," she says with a grimace, spinning around to look at him. Her back rested against the doors, her arms defensively crossing over her chest. "And I told him yes."

"I heard," he says quietly, still looking down at his feet. "You _can_ with him but you _can't_ with me. I completely get it," he says bitterly, but she can only shake her head. "No. _You're_ the one who said you regretted kissing me at Alex and Jo's wedding—" she began before he looked up. "Literally a couple hours ago I told you that I didn't regret it," he says but she shakes her head. "That was _after_ Link asked me out for drinks, and _after _I agreed for him to take me out. While I was waiting around for _your_ confession, sure, I found someone that I could try with."

Silence filled the elevator car again, before she sighed. "All I'm saying is that this is going to get messy. And you're Maggie's ex and a resident—" she begins before he interrupts her again. "_Senior_ resident, and Maggie doesn't care. Like at all." She's trying to tell herself that she can't do this with him, but he's giving her so many reasons as to why she _could_. "I," She begins, his gaze on her, before he shook his head. "I'm not going to be a doormat, Meredith. If that's what you're looking for than maybe Links your guy."

Meredith only stared at him, her heart thundering as he shoved his hands in his pockets again. "I'm a persistent guy, Meredith. Don't think for one second that I'm gonna back down. Because I won't."

The doors to the elevator finally dinged open, relieving all the pent up stress inside of it. She didn't hesitate to run from the elevator car, DeLuca on her heels as they ran towards CeCes OR room.

One thing was certain—she was definitely inside of a love triangle; and it was only a matter of time before it blew up in her face.

**A/N: [i translated all the Italian phrases in google translate (_yikes_) but it should be pretty similar] I had been thinking about the "what if the doors didn't open when Meredith and DeLuca were about to kiss" question, and had written my take on it. If this gets enough reviews and favorites, I'm more than willing to keep this going, but as of now it's a one shot :) **

**The whole Merluca evolution can't be _that _easy, so expect major frustration and resistance... because in the end, it might just be worth it ;)**

**With _allll_ of that, rr? :)**


	2. Holiday Feels

It had nearly been two weeks since she and DeLuca had been stuck in the elevator, the lingering looks and awkward eye contact from across the room back. She seemed to find him _everywhere_, bumping into him in hallways, stairwells and—_elevators_. He had taken a sudden interest in General Surgery, meaning he was on her service twice as much as he would be normally. His company wasn't unpleasant, but it wasn't comforting either. The tension between her, DeLuca and Link was winding tighter and tighter, the two men blunt with each other when any mention of her name was popped into a conversation.

The only thing going for her was the snow and the holidays, the cool wind chill and icy roads giving her a sense of security and happiness. She had always loved the cold weather, and the traumas it brought with it—although she'd never admit that out loud.

As she walked from the attendings lounge into the lobby of the hospital, she caught sight of Jo and Alex inside, Alex handing over a golden, foiled wrapped ham to a nurse, making her scrunch her eyebrows together and laugh. "What is this?" She asks, both of their heads turning toward her. "Hams for the Holidays. It's a new thing I'm trying out as cheif. Here," She reluctantly takes a ham from his hand, looking down at it with an amused scoff. "Why ham?" She asks as the three of them make their way down the hallway, Alex between her and Jo as he shrugs.

"Christmas cards to the staff is, well, boring. Bailey already did that so I decided to do something, _bigger_." She nods along to his words, looking down at the meat in her hands. "It's the unique choice, I mean, I don't think we've ever had a chief give us cured meat before." She chuckles, and Alex side glances her, glaring. "I did something nice and you're mocking me for it," he mutters as they round the corner, and she hears Jo gasp. "Oh! Did you tell her?" Jo asks, looking at her. "We're having a New Years Eve party. Attendings and Fellows only. Champagne. Little snacky things on crackers. classy."

"How glamorous."

"I know. You should invite Link. I mean, I already invited him, but y-you should ask him to be your date. Cause I already told him that you would," Jo says with an innocent smile, giving her an apologetic smile as Meredith shakes her head. "Jo—"

Meredith gasps when someone runs into her, her ham stumbling from her grasp, her hands clutching it at the last second before it fell. "Oh," she gasps, looking up to see DeLuca giving her an apologetic smile. "Oh, sorry," he says, never breaking eye contact with her when he reaches down to grab his coat off the floor. "Hey," She says and he smiles at her. "Hi," He says in nearly a whisper, his gaze making her pulse race. "Uh, I-I was just leaving and it looks like you are, too. Do you want to take our hams out for drinks?" He asks her with a smile, making one spread onto her face.

"Oh, that sounds amazing," she says with a sigh, his grin widening further. "But I have to get home because it's Christmas Eve. I have to put the kids to bed so Santa can come," she says and he nods once, Meredith feeling Jo's annoyed look on her. "Right," DeLuca says and she nods. "Yeah."

"Soon, though?"

"Yes. Yeah," she says watching as he begins to walk away, before an idea hits her. "Oh! You know, actually," she begins as he turns his attention back to her, his eyes finding hers with a curious glint. "The Karev's are having a _very_ classy New Years Eve Party," She says, and he grins, exchanging a glance with an angry Jo, before he nods.

"I'll be there."

"Okay."

"No—" Jo begins once they start walking again, her angry eyes on her as she sighs. "Dark blue scrubs only!" She tells her, but Alex shakes his head. "She can have a plus one," he says, his face buried in one of the tablets, oblivious to the current death glare Jo had on him. "You're supposed to read my tone!"

"Read your _what_?"

"Jo. I'm a big girl," Meredith begins as they stop at one of the nurses stations, giving her a look. "I can handle my own love life," she begins before a familiar voice cuts through the air, making her look up. "Thanks for the ham, cheif." Link stood before them in a Santa suit, the fake white beard pulled under his chin as he gave her a smile. "You're welcome," Alex mutters, still looking down at the tablet in his hands. "Here comes Santa Claus," Meredith jokes, the sight of him in a fuzzy red suit amusing.

"This is for you," he says, handing her a tin box. She grabs it from him, looking up at him with confusion. "Cookies. For Santa, in case you don't feel like baking later." He tells her and she gives him a small smile, balancing the meat and cookies in her hands. "Link is spending his Christmas Eve visiting cancer patients in the cancer ward." Jo says enthusiastically, nudging her shoulder knowingly.

"Seriously?" She asks, and he nods.

"Seriously."

"Seriously," Jo whispers in her ear, smiling at Link like he was God walking the earth. "Now you're mocking him for doing something even nicer? You should take a look at that," Alex says, giving her another disapproving look. She gave him one of her own, before Link smiled. "We'll see you New Year's Eve."

"Bye, Santa."

Meredith found herself smiling to herself, guiltily enjoying the thrill of two men feigning over her. She hears Jo laugh, looking at her with a look of pity. "You're in a love triangle," she tells her as she watches Link walk away, before she shakes her head. "There's no love. There's no triangle," she says aloud, the whole love triangle thing being announced out loud unsettling. "Yeah," Jo scoffs as she begins to walk away, before she turns around, taking a few paces backwards. "Unless of course the ham, the cookies and I are a triangle."

She walks away with a small grin, hearing Jo mutter, "she's totally in a love triangle," to Alex, followed by his "mhm."

She didn't _not_ enjoy the feeling of being in a love triangle, her love life seemingly disappearing with Riggs when he moved to L.A with Megan. The thrill of the chase made her feel less lonely, and she used that as her excuse to not choose one of them—yet.

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"Thank you, thank you thank you thank you," Garrett says as Meredith and some of the doctors walked into Natasha Deons room, their coma patient finally awake. She stops at the end of her bed, the rest fanning out around her before she gave DeLuca a glance, his gaze on her feeling almost like a sixth sense. "Schmidtt," Meredith says, bowing her head to let him begin. "Natasha Deon, 45, hospital day 35. Neuro, she regained consciousness overnight. She is now a-and-o times three." He says, glancing at Amelia who gave him a nod, before he continued. "Cardio and pulmonary, she's on a vent, and has an open thorocostomy for empyema drainage." Maggie nodded this time, before Schmidt looked to Link. "MSK, spine was cleared, and her pelvis was fixed internally."

"When will she be able to talk," Garrett asks, looking down at his trached wife. "We're working on decreasing her vent settings first," Jo tells him, before Meredith looks down at her. "We also have to get her nutrition up. She's weak and she's been through quite a lot," she says softly, Delucas and Links gaze on either side of her making it nearly impossible not to tell them both to stop. "We can close the thorocostomy, today though, since her lungs are doing so much better," Maggie says, looking to Link as he speaks.

"Natasha we need you to get strong for us. I'm gonna get you up and out of that bed soon, okay?" He tells her with enthusiasm, bringing a smile to her lips and a glare to Delucas. "Lets make sure the respiratory therapist brings that peep down to 5. Welcome back, Natasha," Meredith tells her, watching as she tried to smile, wincing in pain. "You may get that planetarium wedding yet," Amelia smiles and Garrett lets out a breath. "At this point, I'd settle for a courthouse." They chuckle, slowly filing out of the room.

"Nice work, Grey," Link says, holding his fist out, her eyes falling to the action. Her own hand curls into a fist, but she hesitates. Slowly, she bumps his, watching as he walks in the opposite direction with a smile. "Love triangle," Jo whispers into her ear, shooting her a look before she walks off towards Alex.

"When are you gonna stop stringing him along, huh?"

Meredith turns her head to see DeLuca smiling at her, taking stride beside her as she walks down the hallway, scoffing. "Excuse me?" she asks him in amusement, his look making her raise an eyebrow. "You heard me. Link—he likes you. And you keep giving him false hope," DeLuca says, and she just looks at him. "Who says it's false?" She asks, his new-found cockiness surprising. "Oh, please. We both know it is."

"Do _we_?"

"Mi sto stancando di perdere tempo senza essere con te." (_Look, I'm getting tired of wasting time not being with you_.) DeLuca walks ahead of her with a sigh, before she lets out another scoff.

"Andrew."

"New Year's Eve. Is that a date? Or is that like 'oh come to this party, we'll make eyes at each other over the punch, but I'm not really brave enough to talk to you in public?"' He mocks, stopping to look at her as she shakes her head. "I've been called a lot of things," she begins, meeting his gaze. "Not brave enough, isn't one of them." She tells him, but his unconvinced look makes her sigh. "Fine. It's a date."

She watches him walk off in the other direction with a grin, before he pulls his arm down with a fist of victory, making her grin, hiding her smile as she walks towards the OR board, feeling warm.

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Meredith opened the doors to Alex and Jo's, her eyes wide with surprisement when she sees how full out they went for this party. She never pegged Alex or Jo to be so good at decorating, and had ultimately decided someone else had done it; like how April designed and planned their wedding. She pushed past people dancing, seeing the leather coat-clad resident sitting on a bar stool alone, playing with the rim of his glass. She sat beside him, smiling. "This seat taken?" She asks him, his head instantly turning to look at her.

"Hey, uh, no. I was just starting to think you wouldn't show," he says, turning his body to look at her, her cheeks warming when they fall to look at her. "You look," He begins with a small intake of breath, shaking his head. "Amazing?" A voice says from beside her, Link taking the seat opposite to her. DeLuca tensed beside her, bowing his head once. "Link."

"DeLuca."

Meredith sucked in a breath, messing with the tight material of her black dress under the table before she smiles. "_I'm_ going to go find Alex," she says standing up, wobbly in her heels. Both men's hands instinctively reach out to steady her, making her push forward, feeling their gazes on her. The music pulsed through the floors, before she saw Alex talking with Jo, the countdown clock on a flatscreen in the center of the room. 45 minutes. "Hey," She says and Alex smiles, pulling her into a hug. "You made it. I thought you were staying to monitor Natasha?" He asks but she shakes her head. "No, one of the nurses said they had it. And I said I'd be here so, here I am."

"With Link?" Jo asks and she sighs.

"With nobody. Except, I did tell DeLuca it was a date," she says and Jo groans. "Meredith. Link is the obvious choice. Just, look at him," she says pointing to him at the kitchen bar. The deep charcoal coat he wore did compliment him well, but the fitting material of Delucas jacket paired with his physique made her head foggy. "He's a nice guy. Give him a chance," she says and Meredith only sighs. "Bye," She says with a wave of her fingers, walking off to sit back down at the bar, Link off talking with Dr. Kim and Schmidtt. "Do you always leave unannounced in the middle of all your dates?" DeLuca asks her, and she just chuckles.

"We should talk about the elevator thing—"

"We should not," she begins, opening a bottle from an ice bucket, sipping on the liquid. "Meredith," He says quietly, raising his eyebrows at her. "Andrew—" she warns back, her eyes meeting his, telling him not too. "Fine. But just know, I'll always have that over Link." He laughs, and she shakes her head grinning. "Cocky," she tells him with squinted eyes and a small smile, but he just shrugs, sipping from his glass. "You're the one who brings it out in me. Along with other things,"

"Andrew," she says, her eyes wide, a smile frozen on her shocked lips. He chuckles, winking at her, before she tears her eyes away from his. All too suddenly it felt like the room was on fire, the warmth from his shoulder pressed against hers making her fidget. His gaze was still on her, the heat rising to her face making him let out a breathy laugh. "I make you nervous," he whispers in realization, as she shakes her head, looking at him. "No," she scoffs, drinking from her bottle. "I make you flustered and _hot_," he says with a grin, slowly leaning closer to her as he spoke.

"You're arrogance is strangely unsettling."

"I make you feel like this," he whispers, grabbing her hand, placing her palm against his chest as he looks into her eyes. His heart was hammering hard against his chest, the steady thumping making her own quicken. She swallows thickly, shaking her head to clear all of her thoughts before she spoke. "That's the alcohol," she says quietly, before he sighs. Her hand slowly falls off his chest, as she inhales deeply. "Is it?" He asks her in scrutiny, but she doesn't answer. "Is _this_ the alcohol?" He says quietly, leaning towards her.

His hand slowly slid to her knee, his body leaning towards hers, making her heart jump into her throat. His touch made her head feel dizzy, his lips mere inches from hers. "Tell me that your heart isn't slamming against your ribcage right now," he whispers, but she doesn't trust herself to speak. He smiles, her eyes slightly crossing, his close proximity making it hard to meet his eye contact. "Tell me that your mind isn't racing and your skin isn't sparking where it touches mine," He says, his voice husky. His hand slid a little higher, making her suck in a breath.

"Andrew—"

She could feel him breathing, his head tilting as he smiles. His thumb rubbed back and forth across her thigh absently, before their attention was adverted to the shouting crowd behind them.

"10! 9! 8!"

The clock was counting down the last seconds until the new year, her eyes falling to all of the couples holding each other. Alex and Jo. Maggie and Jackson. She clears her throat, pretending to ignore DeLucas gaze on her.

"5! 4!"

Meredith finally turned her head to look at him, his eyes falling to her lips, flicking up to her eyes with a grin. He leaned closer, his hand still on her leg.

"3! 2!"

Meredith let out a small gasp when his hand cupped her cheek, his lips just about to touch hers when everyone yelled 1, before a voice broke them apart.

"Happy New Years!"

Link stood next to them with a smug smile, making DeLuca sigh, his hand dropping from her face as she cleared her throat. She turned towards the taller brunette with a smile. "Happy New Years," she tells him, but DeLuca just sips from his glass with a scowl. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything," Link says innocently, his gaze landing on DeLuca. "Hey, Meredith I have to show you this new place that opened up downtown. Tomorrow at 8?" He asks her, and she can feel DeLucas curious gaze on her. "Uh, yeah. Yeah sure—" she says with a smile and he gives her one back.

"Alright. I'll see you then," he says walking off with a smile. "Seriously?" DeLuca scoffs, staring at her with an agape jaw. "It was like pulling teeth for you to consider _this_ party as a date, and now you're just blurting yes to that guy?" He asks her, but she doesn't answer him.

"You, Meredith Grey, are a minx."

She chuckles, looking at him over the lip of her bottle. "What can I say," she begins with a sultry smile, "It's all about the chase, isn't it?"

She gets up from the bar stool, smoothing out her dress before she begins to walk away, feeling his dumbstruck stare on her as she makes her way towards the doors.

"Now you're the cocky one, Grey!"

**A/n: Here's another one :)**

**I'm not sure I like the way this came out, but oh well *shrugs* I have ideas in mind for the next chapter which should be up in a couple (few) days of y'all are still interested :)**

**Please review it gives me motivation to write knowing you all want to read more ! **


	3. You Can’t Fight Love

"So, how did your date with Dr. Date-Crasher go?"

Meredith looked up from her charts to see DeLuca leaning against the desk, his eyes on hers as he surpressed a smile. "It went very well, thank you." She says, glancing back down to Natasha Deon's charts, chewing on the inside of her cheek. "Mine went well too," he says, catching her attention. She glances up to him, to find him grinning. "She's funny, smart and she's currently living on the Ped's floor." Meredith nearly let out a sigh of relief, her eyes narrowing at him. "Although, I'm not sure there'll be another one—" he laughs, causing her to laugh too. She hated how easily he could brighten her mood, his company slowly growing on her.

"Doctor Grey. Just the girl I was looking for," Meredith looks up to see Link smiling down at her, stopping beside DeLuca. "I need a consult on one of my patients. Care to join me?" He asks and she starts to get up, before DeLuca looks at her. "We have Natasha's rounds right about now," He says but Meredith waves it off. "Jo and Schmidtt will be in there. There's no need for two attendings." She walks over to Link, grabbing the tablet with the case file from his outstretched hand. "I'll see you guys in surgery," Meredith says, turning on her heel to follow Link down the hall.

DeLuca watches her walk next to Link, her deep blonde hair slightly swaying across her back as they rounded the corner, his sigh drawing Jo's attention. "I did that," she says with a smile. "She finally listened to me about giving him a chance." DeLuca looks at her as they walk down the hall, shaking his head. "They're not dating. They went on _a_ date. That's it." He hears her chuckle, as they walked into Natasha's room, Schmidtt already at the bedside ready to present.

"Natasha Deon, 45, hospital day 62. Neuro unchanged. Cardio—she was tachycardic overnight. Pulmonary—she was placed back on the ventilator two days ago," Schmidtt begins, before Garrett interrupted him. "She's been awake for four weeks. Why is she back on the ventilator?" Garrett crosses his arms, staring at him. "She has pneumonia, so she's on antibiotics but her lungs have taken a pretty big hit," DeLuca tells him, and Schmidtt continues.

"GI—her tube feeds were held for the OR today, but the CT from overnight—"

"My Osteomy. It's been hurting. Am I—are you still gonna—" Natasha begins in a raspy voice, looking to Jo with pleading eyes. "We won't be able to reverse your osteomy today," Jo says quietly, before Garrett looks at her. "What? Why?" Jo gives him an apologetic smile before looking to Natasha again. "The CT that we got back showed fluid collection in your abdomen, which may be the source of your symptoms." She points to her scans, showing the dark spot of deep fluid build up. "What does that mean?" Garrett asks again, shaking his head.

"It means that we _will_ do surgery today, but it will be to clean out the fluid collections."

Garrett scoffs again, looking down to Natasha. "So you're gonna open her back up? The wounds she's been working to heal the last few weeks?" He says and Jo nods. "Unfortunately, Yes."

"GU—she's on intermittent dialysis and she is gonna have another session today. Heme—She is on DVT prophylaxis—"

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"Okay, cut the knot."

Meredith watched as Schmidtt executed the clipping, her eyebrows raised with surprisement. "Nicely done. You can do the next tie," she says, looking at him. "You seem different." His eyes widen a little as he looks at her, blinking. "I—I got contacts," he chokes out, but she shakes her head, suturing up the tie. "No. It's not that. . .its—it's just that you're less. . ."

"Glasses—" Jo finishes and Meredith nods. "Yeah," She says peering at him, and DeLuca hums in agreement. "Yeah and and the other day when I asked you to change Natasha's central line, you didn't mess it up at all." Jo says and Schmidtt laughs awkwardly. "Kind of a backhanded compliment, but thank you?" He says, a silence falling over them, the beeping from Natasha's monitors seemingly louder.

"I met someone."

Meredith side glances him, Jo and DeLuca looking up at him. "And he's hot and he's confident, and he likes me. And I'm gay. And he's gay. And we're gay, together. And it's the most me I've ever felt in my whole life." Meredith clips the tie, before she smiles at him. "I'm happy for you, Schmidtt." His eyes widen, before he releases a breath of relief, swallowing roughly. "Th-Thank you!"

"Yeah. I think it's beautiful. After all what's life for if not to share it with somebody, right?"

Meredith looks up to DeLuca with a skeptical eyebrow raised, his eyes trained on her from across the table. "Does that mean life is not worth living alone?"

"I think if you meet someone who lights you up, you should fight for them."

She narrows her eyes at him, his head slightly tilting as he stares at her. "Suction," She says sternly, watching as his eyes crinkled into a smile, as she cleared out the fluid. "This fluid looks cloudy," she mutters, pulling out her bowel before gasping. "Oh no. . ." she begins, before sighing. "She's got dead bowel."

"Did we know that?"

"No. Damn it! G.I.A stappler—"

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**February 2**

"Natasha Deon, 45, hospital day 73. Neuro—"

"I don't understand what's happening. It feels like every step forward she makes, she takes two steps back." Garrett looks at her from across the bed, his gaze transfixed on Natasha. "It's February 2," Natasha begins slowly, swallowing roughly with the trach in her throat, "Groundhog day. That's me. I feel like I keep living the same day. Over and over. . ."

"Okay, Bill Murray. Let the doctors tell us what's going on."

"The reason we think she had the dead bowel is that she's—" DeLuca begins, before her monitors go out, the beeping blaring as DeLucas eyes widen. "Natasha? Okay, she's coding! I'm gonna start compressions—" He says running to her bedside, as Meredith triggers the code blue alarm. "Crack open the crash cart and lets push one of atropine and one of epi!" Meredith shouts, pumping the breathing bag as DeLuca continues CPR.

"Natasha!"

Garrett tried to push his way towards them, before DeLuca shook his head. "Schmidtt get him out of here!" DeLuca yells, as Schmidtt grabs him pulling him to the doors. "Natasha please! I _need_ you!" Garrett sobs, as Meredith meets DeLucas gaze from across the table. "She probably threw a PE. Let's get an echo in here and start a heperaine drip—!"

**February 14**

"Natasha Deon, 45, hospital day 84–"

"Just tell me. Please."

Meredith turned her attention towards Garrett as he paced out side of her room, in the hallway. DeLuca stood beside her, flicking his gaze from Garrett to herself. "Well, when she had her pulmonary embolism eleven days ago, it-it-it weakened her heart and her lungs," Meredith begins, watching as Garrett relentlessly paced the hallway. "And since then, her kidneys have worsened, as well." DeLuca finishes and Garrett stops in front of her. "Why?" He asks, and DeLuca apologizes, his gaze on the floor. "Why?" He asks again, tears threatening to spill over his eyes.

"I just—I—Garrett, I,"

"Why is his happening to us?" He asks with a voice crack, tears finally falling to his cheeks, making her own eyes swell with tears. She knew how it felt waiting around with a husband in a coma, _waiting_ for him to wake up and say he was okay. She knew the pain he was feeling knowing she was sick, _knowing_ that he could possibly lose the one person that mattered most to him. She knew that it would only get harder, and instead swallowed her feelings back. "I don't have an answer for that."

"Why is this happening to us? She was getting better. After all we went through. Natasha. . ."

Garrett falls to his knees with a hyperventive groan, sobbing as he clutched the ground. "Garrett?" DeLuca says, as they both run to his side, Meredith falling to her knees in front of him, clutching his arm as DeLuca stood beside him with a hand briefly braced to his shoulder. "Garrett," Meredith begins, before he pulls his arm from her grasp, gasping. "If she dies, I die! If she dies, I die!" He sobs, clutching his chest as Meredith held his bicep with two hands, tears clouding her vision. DeLuca had stepped back when a nurse held his shoulder, his arms crossed as he sadly looks down at her. "Okay," she begins, looking at him, her own voice breaking.

"Garrett listen to me. Look at me, please. Look at me. Look at me, I'm here. Look at me please. Listen to me—" Meredith says with a watery voice, his wild eyes finding hers as he cries. The pain on his face was eerily similar to hers almost three years ago, making her briefly take a breath for composure. "You won't die. I know it feels like that right now, but trust me. You won't die. You have to fight for her. She's in there fighting for you. You don't get to give up." Meredith says, swallowing thickly, willing her tears not to fall. "So part of that fight is you're gonna go take a walk. You're gonna take a shower, and you're gonna get a meal. We will be here, fighting to keep her alive. And you are gonna go fight to keep yourself alive. Okay?"

Slowly he nods, as the nurse helps him to his feet, her body unable to move, stuck on her knees in the middle of the hallway. Her breaths came faster, and she could slowly feel herself begin to hyperventilate like Garrett was minutes ago, and forced herself to inhale a deep breath, burying her face into her palms. Her shoulders shook and her hands trembled, her chest squeezing her tighter and tighter until it felt like she couldn't breathe. "Hey, hey hey hey. Mer, are you alright?"

DeLucas voice softly floated into her ear, his hand warm and comforting against her back, as he rubbed it up and down. She nodded, but it wasn't convincing enough. She thought she was over the pain and the sadness, but the thought had tore open the healing scar, making her feel like she was back in the waiting room, telling her children that their dad had died. "I just need a minute," she gasps out, her hand slowly coming out to clutch one of his, squeezing it for reassurance. "You take all the minutes you need. I'm here," he whispers, his arms drawing her against his side, her head resting on his shoulder.

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Meredith walked into the scan room later that day, feeling like she didn't have a mental break down just hours ago. She had ignored the sad and reassuring glances DeLuca gave her the rest of the day, until she told him she was fine and that she didn't need to be coddled. He had taken the hint and gave her space, until the question he had been dying to ask ate its way to the surface.

"Hey can I ask you a question?"

Meredith turns to see him walking through the doors of the scan room. "Yeah," She says, looking at him when he stops in front of her. "How can you stand there and tell Garrett to fight for love when _you're_ the one running away from it?" He asks her, her eyes wide. She opens her mouth to speak, before she turns on her heel, walking into the hallway. "I-I have three kids. And a _big_ job—" She defends, as he follows her to a nurses station. "What?" She asks when he just stands there, looking at her.

"Nothing just. . .you know, I used to think you were so _beyond_ me, but you're not. You're like a kid playing hide and seek. Hiding behind a million excuses," He chastises, digging his hands into the pockets of his lab coat as he looks at her. "Happy Valentines Day!"

Both of them turn to see Link putting a file away, standing on the opposite side of the desk with his warming smile. "Hi!" She says over-enthusiastically, smiling up at him knowing it irritated DeLuca. "Do you, want to go to dinner, tonight?" She asks him, hearing DeLucas scoff. Links eyebrows raised in surprisement, his smile broadening in realization. "Are you asking me out? On Valentines Day?" He asks her, and she shrugs with a smile. "I guess I am."

"Uh," He begins with a chuckle, grabbing his phone from his pocket, "I'm not usually one to bang my head against the wall," he says, pretending to check his schedule, smiling.

"Is that a no?"

"No, no! I am banging my head," He says with another chuckle, glancing at her. "It's my new thing, I guess. I'll see you, tonight?" He asks her and she nods. "Okay," she grins, and turns to see DeLuca glaring at her with his arms crossed. She gives him a sweet smile, and he forces one of his own, as she checks her tablet with her post op rounds on it. "I'm not running away from anything," she mutters to him, before he raises an eyebrow. "You're running in the opposite direction, Meredith. And I can go all day telling you why, but it'd be quicker if you admitted it to yourself already."

She glances up from the tablet at him, easing her eyebrows up. "The elevator, New Years. You can't tell me that those nights haven't been on repeat inside of your head since they happened. Because I know they have for me, and I _know_ they have for you." She only stared at him, before setting her tablet down with a sigh. "Andrew—"

"Don't. Don't do that, Meredith. Don't give me an excuse as to why you _can't_." He took a couple steps closer to her, her own body moving backwards until her lower back was pressed against the tabletop, his own body close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off him. "Non puoi combattere l'amore, Meredith." (_You can't fight love, Meredith.)_ His hands rested on the desk either side of her, hardly any space between them, as he leaned a little forward, her eyes widening when she realized their lips were nearly touching. "I'll see you in post op rounds, Doctor Grey."

She watched him pull himself away from her, and make his way down the hallway, her eyes never leaving the back of his head until he rounded the corner out of sight. Her palm pushed itself against her heart, as she inhaled a sharp breath, awkwardly glancing at the nurses who saw them, staring at her with agape jaws. She forced herself away from the desk and down the hallway, cursing the way her heart continued to pound in her ears and throughout her body.

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Meredith walks back into Natasha's room at the end of the day, already dressed out of her scrubs and into her real clothes, staring at Jo clutching Natasha's wedding dress, meeting her eyes with a slight bow of her head. Several of her friends and doctors fill the room, as she clutched the piece of paper Garrett gave to her earlier. She watches Jo place the wedding dress over her hospital blanket, as Garrett walks in with the fuzzy black box holding her ring, a sad smile on his face. "Your doctors wanted to make sure we got out wedding under the stars."

The lights dim inside of her room, as everyone holds up a tablet or phone with pictures of the galaxy and Milky Way. She briefly meets Delucas eyes before she looks down at Natasha, smiling softly. "Garrett asked me to read the vows that you wrote before the accident," she says quietly, opening up the paper.

"Garrett, the moment I met you, I knew I would spend the rest of my life with you. Before you, I never met anyone I could be in the same room with longer than a few hours." She chuckles lightly with everyone in the room before beginning again. "I waited my whole life to meet you. I gave up thinking I ever would. But here we are. Better late than never, right?Now that I found you, it all makes sense." She can feel DeLuca staring at her across the room, her eyes finding his, before she looks away. "Everything that was once hard feels easy now that you are in my life. And everything that was once easy is now sublime."

She notices Jo resting her head on Alex's shoulder, Owens glances at Amelia and Nicos hand on Schmidtts shoulder, before she meets DeLucas gaze again, feeling herself wanting to let go.

Let go of her fears and her commitment issues. Let go of the thought of never finding love again. She wanted to be _happy_. And it just so happened that it was possibly staring at her from across the room. She looks back to Natasha when the chaplain begins to speak.

"Do you Garrett, take this woman to be your wife?"

"I do."

"And do you Natasha take this man to be your husband?"

Natasha mouths I do, unable to speak due to the tube in her throat. "By the power vested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife." Garrett leans over and kisses her, Meredith staring at the paper in her hand, before she looks to Garrett and Natasha again. She's pointing to her throat shaking her head. "Don't. Don't, I know," Garrett whispers with a voice crack, fresh tears flooding his eyes when she goes limp next to him, Meredith having to look away when he clutches her hand crying. Everyone turns their screens off, slowly exiting from the room. She places her vows on the table, before she slowly walks out, surprised to see DeLuca waiting for her outside the doors, his hands in his leather jacket.

"Come with me," He whispers, grabbing her hand. She reluctantly takes his, following behind him as he clutched her hand. "What're you," she begins when he opens the stairwell doors, leading them up the stairs. "Just, you'll see—" he says quietly, her heels clicking against the tile as he pushes open the door to the roof.

"I'm supposed to be on a date," she says as they walk onto the roof, before she notices a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket used for surgery, along with plastic hospital cups. "You already are," He says quietly, removing his leather coat to wrap it around her shoulders, before she gives him a look, followed by a smile. He pops the cork off the bottle, filling up the small plastic cups, handing her one. "A toast. To Garrett and Natasha," he says, and she sighs, clinking her cup with his.

"To Garrett and Natasha—"

They both drink, before she looks away from his gaze, walking to the edge of the roof, leaning against the frame, looking out over the city as she sets her cup down. She hears DeLuca walk next to her, before his hand gently holds the back of her head, turning her to face him. She looks at him, his lips slowly up turning into a small smile, his eyes searching hers as he cups her face with his right hand, her eyes trained on his lips, like his. She can feel the same electricity between them, before he gives her a look telling her he's not backing down, before he tilts his head and his lips land on hers.

**A/n: all I can say is that I _love _writing cocky DeLuca because it fits his character so well lol**

**Anyways, I love this whole love triangle thing, but I think it's time I start portraying Merluca ;) and as you can tell a lot of these scenes are eerily similar to the actual episodes (because they are of you haven't noticed yet) but just a little altered to fit this story. I should be updating more often so keep an eye out ;)**

**P.s / I've had this one shot idea about smutty merluca (18 warning) because they're the only ones who haven't had an oncall room scene if ya know what I mean ;) so I was planning on writing**

**one if y'all would read it? Leave a review commenting that you would so I can make it happen ;)**


	4. Sister Approval

Meredith clutched her bag to her side, reaching over to grab her coffee, about to pull out her card to pay for it, when she heard the familiar voice beside her. "I'll get that. And a large Americano for me, please." Meredith takes a sip of the liquid, glancing up at DeLuca with a grin. "I can pay for my own coffee," she murmurs, but he just smiled at her. "I know. But since you won't let me take you on an _actual_ date—"

"Yet. I just have to speak to Maggie first."

"I told you—she doesn't care," he says, giving her a look. "Come out with me tonight. I know this great spot with a view of Lake Union." Meredith just peers up at him, taking another sip of her drink. "Thanks for the coffee," she says with a smile, brushing past him before she continued to walk down the sidewalk, towards the hospital. She could hear his scoff and feel his gaze on her, as a smile spread over her cheeks, finally allowing herself to feel the sun on her face.

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Meredith walked out of the attendings lounge, spotting Maggie walking down the hallway with a tablet in her face, a frown drawn over her lips. Meredith sped walked towards her, catching stride beside her. "Hey. Can I speak to you?" She asks her, as they continue to walk, Maggie humming, without looking up from the device. "Mhm." She takes in a breath, before continuing.

"So I was thinking about going on a date. With... Andrew DeLuca," Meredith says, Maggie's head finally snapping up as she looks at her, before looking back down to her tablet. "I mean, CeCe liked him, and if you're mad then I don't. . ."

"Why would I be mad?"

"I am so mad at you!"

Jo's voice filtered next to them as she took stride on the opposite side of Maggie, glaring at her from across her sister. "Why?" Meredith exclaims, her eyes wide as they round a corner. "You stood up Link!" Jo accuses with a sigh, glancing at her with pity. "Well, I apologized and he accepted—" Meredith says, and Jo scoffs. "Yeah! Because he's a _great_ guy!" She tells her, and Meredith sighs. "I can't take everyone being mad at me—!"

Schmidtt clears his throat, looking at Maggie. "I—What?" Meredith asks, before he looks to her. "I'm on your service," he tells her, before Meredith sighs. "So we'll talk?" Meredith asks her, and Maggie absently nods. "Y-Yeah. Uh huh," she mutters, stopping walking. "Okay," Meredith says, walking off.

"A-about what?"

"First up, Kimberly Thompson."

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Meredith pushes open the door to the CT room, glancing at Maggie in the chair, Schmidtt and Jo behind her as they wait for the scans to pop up. "Hey, um. . .can you talk?" Meredith asks, before the patient in the scanner speaks.

_And Magpie, do you remember when Dr. Hartwell made us suture on ham hocks? What was wrong with him?! _

Meredith gives Maggie a glance, keeping herself from laughing. "Did she just call you _Magpie_? Who is that?" She asks her, before the patient talks again.

_And he had that crazy tall girlfriend. _

"Kiki Thompson. I went to Med School with her—" Maggie mutters and Jo nods. "Apparently she hates her," she adds, and Meredith just nods, looking at the woman inside the CT scanner.

_What was her name? Sally? _

"Why?" Meredith asks, Maggie seemingly in a trance.

_Oh, my god! Do you remember when you stole that cadaver heart? You were so weird!_

Maggie reaches over and presses the button down to access the microphone angrily. "Hahaha, yeah I was—" Maggie unclicks the button after she fake laughs, glaring up to Meredith. "She used to _belittle_ me every single day in front of the whole class. She brought diapers and put them on my work station cause I was the "widdle baby of the cwass" and everybody laughed, and I laughed. I had to pretend she was funny but she wasn't. She wasn't funny! She was mean and _vicious_—"

_How much longer, Magpie? _

Maggie clicks the microphone button again. "You're doing great Kiki, uh we just need a few more scans—" she says after releasing the button, muttering, "—of your guts, which I hate! I hate your guts!" Maggie sighs and turns to Meredith, with a confused look on her face. "Did you need something?"

"Nope."

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Meredith rounds the corner into the O.R board room, Qadri at her side with one of their patients charts in hand. "Okay, Qadri. Say we're gonna get Mr. Dyson's labs back right away. Tell me what complications we are going to look out for—" Meredith says, sitting down in the chair in front of the computer, before she notices DeLuca leaning against the OR board, his arms crossed as he smirks at her. "We will want to monitor his crit for any bleeding, his drain output for a leak, and monitor his vitals for—"

Meredith lost focus of Qadris words, her eyes locked on DeLucas, his gaze making her unable to move. She could tell he knew what he was doing to her by the way he wore his cocky smile, his head tilting to the side, before she snapped out of it when Qadri spoke again.

"Right, Dr. Grey?"

Merediths mouth falls open, as she looks at her intern, before glaring at DeLuca. "I'm sorry. Say that—everything you just said say it again." Qadri gives her a look before smiling. "Uh. Okay. We will want to monitor his crit for any bleeding, his drain output for a leak, and monitor his vitals for—" Meredith gets up, following DeLuca out into the hallway, as he stood outside of the door, like he knew she'd follow him. "Come with me. Now," Meredith says, swinging open the door to a scan room, watching him as he walked in before her.

"No looking at me like that at work," she says, closing the door and leaning against it, her eyes glaring at him. "It's a rule."

"Until you talk to Maggie."

"Ever! We're professionals and it's distracting," Meredith berates him, his smile making her sigh. He just looks at her before she shakes her head. "I spoke to Maggie."

"What'd she say?"

"Nothing, she was acting weird."

"I think maybe _you're_ acting weird."

"I hope you're right, but still, she's my sister so I need to hear it from her—" Meredith says and he just chuckles. "Okay, well, for the record, my sister has never once asked me if she could date my exes, she just dives right in—" he says, motioning with his hands, glancing at her. He takes a couple steps closer to her, crossing his arms.

"Mhm. And how does that make you feel?"

"Good point."

He steps even closer to her, before she holds a finger out, narrowing her eyes at him. "Uh uh. Stop breaking rules—" she tells him, grabbing the handle behind her back, swinging open the door. She steps closer to him before she spins on her heel, leaving him in the room as he lets out a breath, a smile stretched over his lips.

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Meredith swings open the door to the CT scan room, glancing at Maggie staring at scans with her hands ontop of her head, pacing. "Hey," she begins, closing the door. "Hey—" Maggie says absently, not turning at her presence. She just stares at the scans, unmoving. "So listen. If you don't like it, I get it. Just forget it, and I'll forget it, and all that really matters is that we're sisters—" Meredith says for the third time that day, trying to get Maggie's approval. All day Maggie had been locked in another world, her eyes glued to the charts and scans of Kiki Thompson.

"There are rules against operating on people that you love. There should be a rule against operating on people that you hate. And I know that hate is a strong word but I—I strongly hate this woman. And I cannot be the person who kills the person that they hate because there is a name for that and — and a prison sentence." Maggie runs her hands down her face, making Meredith sigh. _There it was again—avoiding their conversation. _"Well, then why're you still staring at her scans?"

"'Cause I also can't be the person who kills her by not doing something when I possibly can."

Maggie sits down into a black rolling chair, Meredith taking the one beside her, glancing at her. "Well, can you?" Maggie chews on her cheek, glancing at the blue lit scans with a sigh. "The rate of mortality is 30% just to open up her chest again and that wouldn't even let me see the stent. I would have no visualization—certainly not enough to do the procedure in the forty minutes I would have before she goes brain dead from a lack of blood in her body."

"Can you put the stent in from below?"

"That's not how it works. . ."

"Right, but I'm not asking how it works. I'm asking can it be done?" Meredith looks at her as she stands up, walking back over to the scans. "I mean, with an intravenous ultrasound I _suppose_ the stent could be sent through the groin, and inserted into the graft from below."

"Well that sounds promising—"

"—but someone else would have to do it. I would have to be at the heart to connect it to the graft once it's in place." Maggie says before throwing her hands up with a scoff. "It's risky as hell. And I—I've never done it before."

"Well, neither have I but it sounds kinda fun."

Maggie turns around and looks at her. "Do you want to assist?" Meredith smiles with a shrug. "Yeah and you have a sister now so if that bully gives you any trouble I got your back," Meredith says with a grin, as Maggie smiles back at her, before turning to look at the scans again with amazement.

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"M.A.P.S are stable, chest tube output is minimal—" Maggie mutters to herself, scoffing in amazement. "Well, she was right. You _really_ are the best—" Meredith says as she follows Maggie out into the hallway, placing her charts on the desk as she laughs sardonically. "Okay, so now can we talk about how you feel?" Meredith asks as they take seats at the station, Maggie sighing. "Ugh. Relieved mostly. A little gloaty—"

"No. About me and DeLuca."

"What—?"

"Maggie I'm not gonna be a Kiki. I can't have you smile to my face and then hate me when I walk out of the room. When I told you this morning, you just smiled at me very weirdly." Maggie shakes her head, staring at Meredith. "When you told me _what_?" Meredith nearly reaches over to strangle her, before she just glances at her. "That I was thinking about going on a date with DeLuca. This morning. I told you that."

"Oh. Oooh! Y-yeah I had just read Kiki Thompson's chart—I saw her name and I was just paralyzed with rage. I did not hear a word you said. DeLuca? Andrew DeLuca? And you?"

Meredith laughs nervously, as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yes. Is it weird? It's weird right?" Meredith asks, laughing to herself as she turns herself in the chair with the toe of her shoe. "No, no. It's surprising," Maggie says and Meredith nods. "For me too."

"He's a good guy. And if he's ever _not_ a good guy, I got your back."

Meredith smiles over at her sister, before looking down at her shoes with a grin, feeling the weight that she's carried around all day fall off her chest.

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"Hey."

"Hey, you paged me?"

DeLuca walked through the doors of the scan room, already changed out of his scrubs, walking towards her in the chair she sat in. "Yes. You are not taking me out tonight." DeLucas face falls, before he sighs, running a hand down his face. "God, is this—is this Maggie? Do I need to talk to her now?" He asks her, drawing a smile to her lips. She stands up, grabbing her coat and her bag, standing in front of him as he mutters, "unbelievable."

"I have three kids. And I'm not getting on the back of a motorcycle. So I'm driving." Meredith says, grabbing his hand in hers. "So where is this place with the view?" His lips stretch into a smile, as he looks down at her with a slight shake of his head. "Okay then. My treat."

He tilts his head, pressing his lips to hers, his hand gently coming up to cup her face. She pulls back slightly, before he leans to kiss her again, smiling as he grasps her hand, kissing her one last time before he lead them out of the room, his fingers interlocking with her own.

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"Wow—"

The words passed through Merediths lips in a whisper, as she stared out over the lake, the tall buildings of Seattle sparkling under the stars. DeLuca looks at her from across the car console, reaching over to clasp her hand in his. "I told you," he grins, staring out over the sparking water, the clifftop they were on giving them the entire view of Seattle. She looks over to him, smiling as she watches his eyes softly run over every building, his grin seemingly stuck on his face. "Beautiful—" he whispers and she nods. "The view _is_ incredible."

"Yeah, the views alright. But I was talking about you," he says as he looks at her, her eyes finding his face as her cheeks warm. His eyes fall to her lips, her heart pounding faster, her eyes slightly widening when he leans his elbows on the center console, turning his body to angle himself toward her. His hand tucks a stray blonde curl from her face, smiling as he searches her eyes, before he's kissing her. Her eyes close, her own body turning towards his as they meet in the middle over the console, her hand clutching the base of his neck. His mouth opened over her own, deepening their kiss, his palm pressed flat against her shoulder blade, pressing her closer to him.

It wasn't long till he was pulling her slightly out of her car seat, her knees digging into the plastic frame of her seat. His hand traveled into her hair, his hand angling her face to kiss her deeper, his tongue breifly brushing her own, drawing a quiet pant from her lips. His other hand clutched her waist, tugging her over the center console. She stretched one of her legs over it awkwardly with a laugh, her head grazing the top of the car as his hands hold her waist to his own.

She brought the other one over the console, before she straddled him like a teenager, making heat rise to her cheeks. "Much better," He says with a grin, before kissing her again, his hands pressed against her back, pushing her closer as he dropped kisses to her neck. She shifted under him, before her foot knocked into something, making her pull back. DeLuca either didn't hear it or didn't care, because his hand was turning her face back to his, dropping a kiss to her lips. "What was that?" She asks, but he shakes his head. "What was what?" He asks quietly kissing her again.

She opened her mouth, before the car jerked forward, both of their eyes widening. "What—" DeLuca begins, his hands scrambling to find the gear shift behind her, cursing when he can't find it. "Andrew do something!" She yells, scrambling to get off of his lap, but she was stuck, unable to move. "Oh god, Mer-Meredith don't look—!"

His panicked plea made her whip her head around, before her eyes widened in fear.

**A/n; yikes sorry for that cliffhanger ;) **

**As I said I should be updating pretty frequently, but don't expect another chapter for the next few days because I will be busy *shrugs***

**But go ahead and review if you'd like, it really makes my day!**

**P.s - I _have _started that one shot idea, so expect an update on that as well ;)**

**With _alll _of that, I really appreciate all y'all reading and reviewing this—you guys seriously make my day :)**


	5. First Date (Gone Wrong)

_"Oh god, Mer-Meredith don't look—!"_

She couldn't help herself; her head whipped around, her eyes widening when she looks out of the windshield. Her car rolled towards the edge of the drop off, her heart stopping when the front wheels fall off, tilting her car almost vertical. She let out a scream when they jerked backwards, her back hitting the steering wheel, making the horn let out a long, loud blare. DeLucas arms were immediately around her, shielding her head like a human helmet. She looked out of the window and saw the night sky, the car jerking one last time forward as the back wheels got caught on the lip of the cliff. The only reason they hadn't fallen to their death was because of the back wheels keeping them there, the slight sway of the car making her feel like they were on a teeter-totter.

"Don't move—"

Meredith clutched his arms, keeping him from moving. Due to their position, DeLucas weight was pressed against her, his throat swallowing thickly. She was thankful she was faced away from the windshield, knowing that DeLuca had a clear view of the ground—3 stories below them. "I won't," he gasps out, his arms still around her. "But you're going to have too—" he says before her eyes widen. "N-no! I'm not moving—!" Meredith says with wide eyes, pulling slightly back to look at him. "Do you trust me, Meredith?" He asks her in a short burst of a gasp, her pulse throbbing under her breastbone as she stares at him.

"You're going to have to climb over me to the backseats, and get out through the back doors. And then I'll follow you after. If both of us try to move, this car will plummet 100 feet and we're as good as dead." He searches her eyes as she shakes her head. "The only thing keeping us from falling is the back wheels. If I even slightly make them move, the car will fall." She says, panicked. "Mer, please. We can't just wait to fall. I've got you, I promise," he whispers, her jaw locking in fear as she stares at him. "I can't—" she says shaking her head.

Her body felt like it was paralyzed, but the soothing warmth from Andrews hands holding her arms made her inhale sharply, as she glances at him. "You can," he whispers, his eyes boring into hers with an intensity that made her feel like she was on fire. "What happens if the car moves—"

"Meredith," DeLucas voice was nearly a beg, his grip slightly tightening around her biceps as he stares at her. "It's only a matter of time before the car loses its traction on the gravel behind us. _Please_." His breathing was erratic under her palms, his lips turned down into a grimace. The fear etched on his own face drove her own, as she slowly nodded. "Over you and out of the back doors," Meredith repeats quietly, relief crossing over his face. "You can do it," he says, reassuringly squeezing her arms before they fell from them, DeLuca nodding his head once.

She reached a shaky hand out, clutching the head of his car seat, her eyes locked on the tops of the backseat, making that her destination. His hands gently held her waist as she lifted her left leg slowly, resting her knee on the center console, bending her head so it didn't hit the roof of the car. "You're doing great, just a little more to the left and you'll be able to fit through the seats—" DeLuca says, before she realizes his pale complexion. "You're afraid of heights," she says quietly, stopping to glance at him. He just looks up at her, slightly glaring.

"Nows not the time to discuss my phobias!"

"Right. . ."

She stretched her leg over the center console, placing her foot on the floor of the backseat, her right knee resting on DeLucas legs. She placed her weight on her left leg in the back, before the car creaked slightly, her body freezing. Both of them held their breaths, her knuckles white where her hands gripped the seats. DeLuca had clutched the seat under him, his eyes closed. She made the mistake of looking over her shoulder, staring through the windshield at the ground swaying below them. The windy dirt road they took to get up here looked impossibly small, their tire tracks almost invisible. She swallowed back her fear, and turned her focus back to climbing out of the car.

"Andrew. . ."

"I-I'm fine. Go."

She nodded once, before she moved her right knee onto the center console, using her hands to hold most of her weight off the floor. She reaches her right leg above the seat, placing it next to her other one, as she clutched the seats behind her. "Almost there?" DeLuca asks her, before she lets out a soft grunt, twisting so she faced the back door on the drivers side. "Uh, y-yeah. But this is the trickiest part," she pants, his head turning to look at her. "Whatever happens—"

"Andrew! Stop it!"

Meredith glared at him, his jaw clenched as he looks at her, his head tilting. "You know that—" She shakes her head. "No. I don't know anything. I'm going to get out, and then you're going to get out. Okay?" She watches him nod reluctantly, before she slowly leans forward, wrapping her hand around the door handle. "Okay, I have the door handle in my hand. Don't move—" she says, as she swings open the door, before gasping. The rush of cool air hit her face, as she stared down at the ground below them. "Damn it!" She curses with a panicked inhale, making DeLuca turn slightly. "What? What is it?"

"The car is too far forward. I-I can't get out this way," she begins looking around before it hits her. "Pop the trunk. The button for it is on the underside of the steering wheel—" Meredith says, easing her way into the backseat. "But that means you have to climb over another set of seats—" he says, his words strained. "It'll offset the weight." Meredith thinks for a second, her pulse throbbing in her chest. "Okay. Okay, you're going to do what I just did. We will both climb over the seats one at a time, so the weight difference from front to back isn't so big—" she tells him, but he shakes his head.

"You told me I could do it, and I did. So now I'm telling you that you can do it, Andrew." She hears him inhale sharply, before his fear ebbs away, his face blank. "You're right. But it'll involve a lot more movement for _me_ to get out than it did for you. My legs are under the steering wheel and if I move it, the wheels will move and we'll fall." She groaned, knowing his logic was the most realistic. "So I would like it better if you were safe before I compromise the car," he says and she feels her throat stricting tighter, knowing tears wanted to fall from her ducts. "No! We're in this together, I'm not going to be the only one getting out of here, Andrew! Please, just. . .try." Meredith watched him through the review mirror, his head falling into his palms.

"Andrew."

"Meredith."

It reminded her of the time she and Alex were stuck in the rig in the rain in the middle of nowhere on one of the most dangerous corners. She had been too stubborn to get out of the rig, and they had both ended up getting hurt. She hadn't wanted to leave him there because she couldn't live with the guilt of saving herself only to hurt him.

"I'm not leaving you in here. If something were to happen, I couldn't live with the guilt—"

"It's not up for discussion, Meredith. I'm not moving until you're out of the car. I'm not putting both of our lives in danger when it can only be mine." She meets his gaze through the review mirror, shaking her head as she chokes on a gasp. "Andrew—"

"Meredith. Go. _Please_."

Reluctantly she turned, unable to say anything else. Her hands gripped the heads of the backseats, as Andrew popped the trunk. The hood slowly raised upwards, the weight shifting to the front, making them sway again, the tires slightly shifting forward. DeLuca let out a small gasp, before she scrambled to get her leg over the top of the seats. "Andrew! Start moving! The cars not going to stay up much longer—" Meredith says through clenched teeth, as she gets over the seats, resting in the trunk on her knees, her hands on the back seats as she peers over them at him. "I'm almost out come on—" she says and he nods, as she watches him turn, beginning to move.

He deftly made it around the center console before the car jerked forward, sending him slightly backwards, his hand clutching the head of his seat. He pulled himself forward, the sound of gravel crunching making her breathing become faster. He reached out to grab the back seat, before she reached her hand out, his own grabbing hers. She helped pull him through the space of the seats, before the car let out a low groan, her eyes widening as it began to fall. She still clutched his hand as she jumped onto the ground behind the car, his feet hitting the trunk floor before the car fell.

DeLucas feet slipped out from under him, before she clutched his hand with both of hers, her eyes wide as she watches the car fall under them, the loud crash making her throat squeeze. DeLuca hung onto her hands, his body hanging from the edge, her grip on him the only thing keeping him from falling. "Oh my god," Meredith pants, her eyes beginning to water. Meredith rested on her stomach as she clutched DeLucas hand, staring at the ground so far below under him.

"Hey, don't look down. Look at me—" he pants, her eyes falling to him. His weight caused her arms to dig into the rocks and gravel, the tiny pebbles biting into her skin, drawing blood. "This is so much worse—!" Meredith says, sucking in a hyperventive gasp, a tear sliding down her nose. DeLucas free hand gripped the edge of the cliff, his fingertips turning white under the pressure. Her teeth clenched as she struggled to hold him up, pain shooting through her arms. His hand slightly slipped from hers, making both of them let out a grunt.

The hand holding his was white, feeling slowly draining from it as it fell asleep. "Okay, uh—" DeLuca grunts, his eyes wide as he looks around, "I'm gonna try and pull myself up, alright?" He says and she nods. His hand holding the edge of the cliff slipped, causing her to slide forward and DeLuca to go further down. She let out a scream, her eyes wide as she stares at the ground again, her eyes falling to her now totaled car smoking below them. His hand was hardly in hers anymore, a thin line of blood trailing down her arm from where the cliff dug into her. "Andrew—" his name bursted from her lips as a sob, the strain from holding his dangling body taking a toll on her strength. They clutched onto each other by their fingertips, both of them white due to the pressure.

And as if the world had conspired against her and her need to be happy, he slipped from her grasp, and fell towards her car below them.

**A/n: another update yay! Sorry this one is on the shorter side (and yet its still 2000 words lol) but another should be up in a couple days! **

**Also, I'm working on that one shot, so expect**

**More updates on that too ;)**

**Reviews are ALWAYS welcomed and encouraged! Thank you all for enjoying this as much as I enjoy writing it! Y'all are so amazing!**


	6. Aftermath

_Racing heart. Sweaty palms. Dizzy head._

Meredith had felt like she was stuck in a time warp, replaying quite possibly one of the most traumatic things she had ever witnessed. Sure she had nearly been blown up by a bomb, had drowned and came back to life, was in a plane crash, witnessed her sister, her mother, her father and her husband die, and was assaulted by one of her patients, but watching and hearing someone fall from so high would haunt her for the rest of her life. She hadn't _actually_ watched Derek get hit by a semi truck or watched the light go out of Lexi's eyes, but she _had_ watched DeLuca fall, and she was sure she was paralyzed from it.

Once reality slammed into her body, she was up faster than she could've thought, the soles of her shoes pounding into the ground as she sprinted down the dirt path towards Andrew and her car. Her breathing was labored, tears falling down her cheeks as she ran through trees and shrubbery, nearly tripping with every sharp turn. His name tore through her throat as she ran, ignoring the stings of branches cutting her face and arms, Andrew the only thing on her mind.

She reassured herself that people survived from falls that high, and used it as motivation to push herself faster. The windy road got steeper the further she went down, causing her to slide. She could see her car billowing smoke, but the darkness made her strain to see where Andrew was. As she got closer, she could see him; and it nearly made her double over in pain. She could obviously tell he had an open femur fracture and a head laceration, one of his arms bent in a way that made her want to look away. She ran towards him, sliding to her knees by his side. Her hand gingerly touched his cold forehead, his body limp and unmoving. She pressed two fingers to his pulse point of his neck, feeling a faint heartbeat.

She sobbed aloud with joy, blinking tears from her eyes as she looked around for her cellphone. It had been in the passenger side seat when the car fell, so she knew hers was broken. She saw the edge of Delucas poking out of his pocket, and she grabbed it, thankful it still worked. She had dialed 911, her eyes staring at all of the blood around them, still uncertain if anything was wrong internally.

_911, what's your emergency?_

"H-help! My boyfriend fell off the drop off on Vista Point. I need an ambulance and I need you to contact Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital and tell them it's Doctor Grey and Doctor DeLuca."

_Help is on the way. Our dispatched services will contact the hospital as soon as they can._

Meredith thanked them and hung up, leaning over to get a better look at his head laceration, her eyes widening. It was deep, and blood had endlessly soaked through his hair and onto the dirt and gravel below him. She pulled off her thin cotton coat, using it as a makeshift bandage to stop the bleeding. She focused mainly on his head, because she was unable to look at the bone sticking out of his leg, or the way his arm had been broken at the shoulder, elbow and wrist. She kept checking his pulse, her own racing each time it became weaker.

"C'mon!" Meredith grumbled to herself, wondering where the hell the ambulance was. She rested DeLucas head on her lap, to keep it from resting on the bumpy ground. She thought she'd be able to deal with this kind of stuff considering she was a surgeon, but she had kept her eyes solely on his bruised face, her hand holding pressure to the now bloody coat around his head. She could feel her own blood trailing down her forehead from a gash she got running here, but she ignored it. It was nothing compared to what DeLuca had just went through.

Her head whipped around when she heard the sirens of the ambulance, her heart slamming into her rib cage with relief. Dust flew up and around the red rig, as Meredith waved them over with her hand. She had gotten up carefully, jogging over to the paramedics grabbing the stretcher, her eyes wild. "He's over there and he's in pretty bad condition," Meredith begins as she follows them back to DeLuca. "Head Lac, multiple broken bones, and who knows if there's internal bleeding." The paramedics nod as they secure him on the stretcher, putting a neck brace around his neck and attaching him to portable devices, before they loaded him into the back of the rig, and she climbed in.

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The doors to the rig swing open, Owen and Jackson the first ones she sees. They're pulling DeLuca out as the paramedic names off his vital statistics, before a hand briefly reaches out to touch her forehead. "Holy shit, are you okay? You're gonna need a couple stitches, Meredith—" She turned and saw Alex, before she pushed her way towards the stretcher with Andrew headed into Trauma One. "No, I'm fine! I need to make sure Andrew is fine—" she says as she pushes her way into the ER, grabbing for a yellow trauma gown. "Mer! You're covered in his blood and your blood. You need to be checked out," Alex tells her, as they walk into the trauma room, Amelia and Link now in there, too.

"What the hell happened?" Link asks with wide eyes, assessing his legs and arms. "Pelvic fracture, open femur fracture and a tri-broken arm?" Link looks over his shoulder to her, along with everyone else. "We-we were at Vista Point and my car began to roll. It was hanging off the edge of the cliff and we were so close to getting out of it before it fell. I had caught his hand at the last second, but-but he slipped from my hand—" Meredith felt the surge of tears hit her again as she looked at Andrew, unconscious on the table.

Her eyes widened when his heart monitor began to beep, before Alex grabbed her arm. "You need to go get checked out. We have him, Mer. You're too unstable to work under these conditions—" Alex says, but she shakes her head. "No! Alex I saw him _fall!_ I heard him hit the ground 100 feet below us! I'm not _unstable_. I'm fine, and I'm going to help." She pushes past him to his bedside, watching as Owen did compressions to get his heart rate back. Her bloody hands reached out to run a hand over his head, her eyes wide and bleary. "I got a heart beat—" Owen yells, as Amelia checks his pupils. "Delayed dialation. I'm going to need a head CT to assess further damage—" she says, and the nurse nods, scrambling to order the scans. "There's free fluid in the abdomen. We're going to need an OR booked."

"You can't open him up until I secure the pelvis," Link says to Richard, before Maggie shakes her head. "No, I don't know how well his heart will hold up if we open him up," she says but Meredith can only stare at his blank face, battered with blood, bruises and dirt. "He wanted to make sure I was okay before he moved. He nearly killed himself to save me," Meredith says, emotionless. "I don't know why. I told him that he needed to move—" She felt the tears well up inside of her eyes, before Jackson placed a hand on her back.

"Mer? Come with me, so I can suture your forehead. DeLuca is going to go to CT and then surgery. We're going to do everything we can for him, alright? This wasn't your fault." Jackson tells her, but she scoffs.

"Yes it was. If my foot didn't hit the gear shift we wouldn't have nearly died—!" She says, her eyes wide as she looks up at him. "I nearly killed us! It's my-_my_ fault!" Meredith dropped her head into her palms, crying. If anything were to happen to Andrew she wasn't sure if she could handle another person she cares for dying. Her hand fell off of Andrews gurney when they began to move him out of the room, leaving her and Jackson inside the trauma room. "Hey, hey—" Jackson's hand slowly rubbed her back, as she shook her head. "Why does everyone I care for always get hurt? Or die?" She asks rhetorically, sobbing into her hands. "If something happens to him, I'll never forgive myself. I was the one holding him, which means I'm the one who dropped him."

"Meredith. It was an accident, you both got hurt. Things like this happen all the time, don't beat yourself up over it." She met Jackson's gaze, looking up at him with a scoff. "You didn't see him fall, Jackson. You didn't _hear_ it."

Jackson sighs, before standing up. "You're right. But remember what you told Garrett? You need to fight for him because he's fighting for you. So part of that fight is getting up, and letting me help you so you can help him." Meredith meets his gaze again, before sighing. She wiped the blood trailing down her temple, before standing up. "Good. Follow me," He says and she follows him out into the hall, into a check up room. She takes a seat on the paper clad bed, as Jackson grabs a suture kit and a chair. "Your arm looks pretty bad, too. You'll need stitches on your arm and forehead." He tells her and she can only stare at the floor between her shoes.

"It should have been me."

She felt Jackson's stare on her, before he cleared his throat. "You'll feel a slight pinch," He says quietly, as he inserts the numbing agent into the flesh around the gash on her forehead. Jackson leans forward with the needle and stitch in his hand, her eyes trained forward, her face emotionless. "And for the record, DeLuca would've wanted it to be him instead of you." Meredith just gives him a glance, raising her eyebrow. "Hey, hey! No moving your face while I stitch—" he says, and she finds herself smiling a little, before it falls.

"It was so surreal. Sure we've treated people who've been in similar accidents, but being in one. . .was the scariest thing I've experienced in a long long time." She meets Jackson's gaze as he finishes suturing her head, placing a large bandage across her forehead. "You saved his life, Meredith. If you had gotten out a second later, he would've fallen with the car which would've crushed and killed him." He tells her, before he preps her arm. "I remember when he pulled Maggie and I away from that speeding car. If he would've been a second later, we would've died." Meredith nods her head, remembering. "Like I said. Don't beat yourself up over it."

She watched Jackson stitch up the underside of her arm, before she lets out a sigh. "I know. It's just, I haven't been truly happy since Derek died. I'm like a magnet; attracting death and danger where ever I go." Jackson let out a laugh, glancing at her. "Yeah I understand. I haven't been happier since I got with Maggie. Things get hard, but you have to push past them." She nods, as he bandages up her arm. "Any other injuries?" He asks, picking up her bruised hand. "What happened here?" He asks her, as she looks down. "That was the hand I used to hold DeLuca from falling. It-it's fine." She says, wincing when he turns her arm. "Doesn't look fine. I'm going to get ortho to take a look at it," He says, standing up. "No! You do it," she says but Jackson shakes his head, tossing his gloves into the bin. "I don't specialize in ortho, Mer. I'll go get Link."

Link was the last person she wanted to see since she stood him up a couple days ago, but she instead sighed, watching Jackson leave.

Less than a minute later the door swung open again, as Link stepped inside. "Jackson told me you needed an ortho consult?" He steps inside, rubbing his hands with hand sanitizer as she shakes her head. "No, I told him I'm fine. My hand is just bruised a little, is all." She watches him take a seat in the chair in front of her, before he gently grabs her hand in his. "Bruised is an understatement. You could have nerve damage—" he says, turning it so her palm faced upwards. She winced, lettting our a pained gasp. "I'm going to need an x-ray. I'm sure nothing is broken, but if you have tendon and nerve damage, we'll need to assess it."

She sighs, as he places her hand back onto her lap. "H-how's Andrew?" Meredith asks, as Link looks up at her. "He's on his way into the OR for a splenic bleed and a collaped lung. I stablized his femur fracture with an x-fix and I put his left arm into a full length cast. Amelia is going to fix the small subdural hematoma first, and then Bailey and Webber are going to go in and fix the abdominal bleeding." Meredith inhaled a sharp breath, looking down to her discolored hand. "I'm going to go get an NCV ordered, and an x-Ray scheduled. Don't wander off, alright? Stay here," he says but she just gives him a look. "Fine."

She watches him leave, as she rests onto her back on the bed, staring up at the fluorescent lights. She desperately wanted to run from the room and scrub in on Andrews surgery, but her hand was useless, and there was no way Richard or Bailey would let her in. So instead she stayed put, and waited for Link to come back.

He came back in with the NCV device, making her sit back up, as he closed the door. "Alright. I'm going to place these two electrodes on your hand. One is going to shock the nerve while the other sends feedback to the machine," Link says, as he applies a cool, jelly-like substance to her bruised hand. "It'll take about half an hour, so during that time I'm going to need you to relax and not move any muscle in your right arm, got it?"

She nods, watching as he places the electrodes to her first and last metacarpals of her hand. "Alright. This will feel uncomfortable, so try not to flinch. We need clear readings for this to work." She met his gaze, before she nodded, clearing her throat. He switched a button, before her hand shocked, her eyes slightly widening when she sees one of her tendons move. "Is it supposed to do that?" She asks and he nods. "It means that finger works," He says pointing to her middle one. "And it does it to every nerve in my hand?" She asks and he nods.

"Now stop moving," he chuckles, giving her a smile.

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"Bruised tendons and only mildly damaged nerves. We'll put you in a heavy duty brace, and after a couple weeks your hand will be as good as new."

Merediths eyes widen. "I can't go a couple weeks without surgery!" Her jaw hangs open as she watches Link take out a metal support brace from a box, shaking her head. "You have to use it minimally or you could permanently damage your hand and never do surgery again." She meets his look with a sigh, holding her arm out. "Fine," she huffs, as he straps and tightens the brace, his fingers pulling the straps through the plastic loops with a gentle shake.

"Why're you shaking?"

She meets his sorrowful gaze with one of her own, staring at him. "Link! _Why_ are you shaking? What happened when you went out there?" He finishes strapping the Velcro before he steps back, crossing his arms. "Meredith. . ."

She shakes her head. "Damn it, Link! Just tell me what the hell happened!"

"It's Andrew."

A**/n: finally I finished this chapter! (after rewriting it _multiple_ times, yikes)**

**I know that this turned very dark very fast, but I mean. . . come on. It's greys so something bad had to happen *lol* I will be updating as much as I can, but I tend to get busy with cheerleading, working and my student body duties, but I write whenever I have free time for y'all! Expect an update soon, as well as that one shot;) I kind of got writers block on it but no fear I'll figure it out :)**

**With this, review?? :) it truly means a lot to me!**


	7. Waiting

_"It's Andrew."_

Meredith only blinks, her hand falling heavily onto her lap. "What?" She asks with a slight shake of her head, meeting Links lowered gaze. "What do you mean it's Andrew? Did-did he die? Oh, _god_ he's dead?" She asks with widened eyes, her chest constricting against her ribs, making it hard to breathe. "What? _No_! Andrew had an early complication during surgery, so Webber and Bailey couldn't get to repair his collapsed lung. They hardly had enough time to suture the lasseration on his spleen. He's on a monitor and a breathing tube until his vitals come back up and he's stable enough to go back into surgery."

Meredith let out a sob of relief, placing a shaky hand to her forehead. "Jesus, Link! You scared me half to death," she breathes out, closing her eyes as she inhales a deep breath through her nose. "But, there's bad news." She looks at him, her eyes narrowing. "So _that_ was supposed to be good news?" She asks incredulously, before Link sighs. "Let me rephrase that. There's _worse_ news." He meets her look, before he takes a seat. "Andrew has suffered substantial injuries. Amelia got the subdural hematoma controlled microscopically, but she said that there's a possibility he won't wake up. She's monitoring his pupils and his brain function, but she says it'll take overnight before they can declare the next course of action."

Meredith shakes her head. "Next course of action?" She scoffs, standing up. "He's going to be okay. I know it." She walks towards the door as Link sighs. "I want to see him," she says, and Link nods towards the doors. "He's in the ICU." She makes her way towards the elevators, before she's stopped by Maggie. "Hey—oh my god. Are you alright?" She asks, grabbing her braced hand gently. "Just some bruised tendons and nerve damage. I'm fine. Im actually on my way to see Andrew," Meredith says, pressing the up button. "I'm headed off on a cardio consult, but we'll talk later?" She asks and Meredith nods as she gets onto the lift.

As she ascends upwards, she plays with the bandage across her forehead, nerves eating her alive. The elevator ding snapped her from her thoughts, as she walked down the halls, glancing into every room she walks by, waiting to see him. She checked the list, walking towards room 128, opening the sliding door carefully as she glances at him. The steady beeping of the monitor helping him breathe was the only sound in the room, her good hand slowly closing the door behind her. His eyes were closed, the bruising and scratches on his face seemingly more prominent. She swallowed roughly, as she dragged a chair up next to his bedside.

"I'm so sorry," she whispers, grabbing his hand in hers carefully. "This never should have happened to you." She felt her voice crack as she stared at him, bruised and unconscious. "I should've been the one who fell. I was the one who caused all of this." She swallowed again, running her thumb across his knuckles as she sighed. "Amelia and Link think you won't wake up. But I know you're in there somewhere. You have to fight, okay? Not just for you, but for me too. I need you here, okay? So please, just fight." She shook her head to herself.

"_Please_."

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"Grey? Grey, wake up."

Merediths eyes opened, her head lifting off of Andrews bed. She squinted against the lights, peering up at Jackson. She let go of his hand in hers, sitting up straight. "Hm? What time is it?" Meredith asks in a low mumble, rubbing her eyes. "Nearly eight at night." Jackson says, before she stands, smoothing out her hair. "I slept all day?" Meredith asks incredulously, widening her eyes. "Nobody wanted to wake you. You've been through a lot." She runs a hand down her face, nodding. "I'm checking DeLucas vitals now, so we can bring him into the OR to fix his collapsed lung."

"So that means he's okay?" Meredith asks, remembering Link telling her that how well he did overnight was what would determine what happened today. "I'm not saying anything, but if he's strong enough to have surgery, there's a higher chance he won't code on the table." Merediths heart deflated a little, as she stared at him. "Why were you guys up at Vista Point anyways?" Jackson asks her as he checks his monitors, looking over his shoulder at her. "We were, um, on a date—" she tells him, as Jackson's eyebrows raise. "You and DeLuca?" He asks, and she nods sheepishly. "Well, good for you. If you're happy, I'm happy—" he tells her, before beaming.

"Looks like your guy is healthy enough for surgery," he says, making her smile. "Thank god," she breathes, resting a palm to her chest. "I'll get Webber and Bailey and we'll have him in the OR in no time," Jackson says, walking out after he pats her shoulder reassuringly. "Go home, Grey. We've got him," Jackson says as he walks out, her eyes falling to Andrew one last time, before she makes her way out of his room.

As she walks down the hall, she catches Maggie heading for the doors. "Hey! Maggie, wait up," Meredith says, watching as Maggie stops and turns to her. "Hey," She says softly, as Meredith walks beside her. "Can I ride with you home? Y'know, since my car is probably in a scrap yard somewhere." Maggie nods as they stop at her car, Meredith climbing in passenger. "Wait!" Both Meredith and Maggie turn at the sound of Amelia's voice, as she makes her way towards them. "I'm coming with you," she says, climbing in the back as Maggie starts the car. "I thought you were staying with Owen?" Maggie asks and Amelia shakes her head. "Problems. Teddy problems."

Both of them nod as Maggie makes her way towards the highway, Meredith overthinking. All she could see was her car and Andrew falling, the loud boom echoing in her ears. The smell of the smoke still felt like it was around her, swirling in her nose and burning her eyes. She cradled her arm in her hand, messing with the Velcro on her brace, staring out the window.

"Earth to Meredith!"

She turns to see Maggie and Amelia staring at her, her eyebrows raising. "What?" She asks and Maggie sighs. "We asked you how you're doing," she says, pulling into the driveway. "Oh. I'm fine," Meredith says, getting out of the car. Her sisters follow her into the house. "Did anyone pick up the kids?" Meredith asks with wide eyes, spinning around to look at them. "No. We told the babysitter what happened and she said she'd keep them for the night—" Maggie says, as she steps inside. She nods, feeling extremely tired even though she had slept for nearly 16 hours.

"Want to talk?" Maggie asks, but Meredith sighs. "Not really. I'm tired—" she says, but Amelia gives her a look. "You slept all day—" Amelia says, but Meredith gave her a look this time. "In a sitting position hunched over. I'm going to go sleep in my bed." Meredith began to walk up her stairs, hearing Maggie and Amelia quietly chattering. She had closed the door to her room, half heartedly managing to take a shower and change in a matter of 10 minutes. As soon as her head hit her pillow, she let her eyes slide closed, allowing the comfort of the darkness to draw her to sleep.

_Meredith had heard her pager going off, her eyes groggily openening, her hand blindly reaching out to grab the buzzing device. She had sighed, glancing at the 911 page. Her eyes had immediately snapped open when she saw it was a 911 on DeLuca, and threw off her blankets as she scrambled to change, her heart beating against her ribcage. She had thrown on clothes, scrambling to find her shoes as she ran down the stairs. Amelia and Maggie were still up, talking on the couch. _

_The tv buzzed quietly with some tv show rerun, as they glanced over to her. "It's Andrew!" Was all Meredith could sputter out, her braced hand throbbing as she attempts to put her shoes on. "Yeah, we know." Meredith met Maggie's gaze, shaking her head. "What do you mean you know? What if something is wrong!" Meredith says, scrambling for Maggie's car keys, since her car was still totaled. "Mer—" Amelia begins, but she shakes her head. "I'm taking your car, Maggie." _

_Meredith ignored her sisters calling after her as she started the car, pulling out of the driveway. She had sped down the road towards the highway, her heart racing as she passes the sparse amount of cars on the road, making it to the hospital in less than 10 minutes. She had all but ran into the hospital lobby, and used the stairs instead of the elevator to get to Andrews room. She saw doctors around his bed, the beeping of his monitor making her heart stop. "What's happening?!" She pushed her way inside, looking down at Andrew._

_He had blood on his chest and abdomen, his throat trached. "Meredith you shouldn't be in here," Owen says, but she shakes her head. "No! P-push one of epi!" She begins, before Jackson stops compressions, his monitor flatlining. "Why did you stop? Keep going! Don't let him die, Jackson!" Meredith was sobbing, clutching onto his arm. She couldn't do compressions with her hand, and instead she looked to Richard. "Please! Do something, anything!" She yells, looking down at Andrew again, lifeless on the table._

_"Meredith, hes gone." She shook her head, refusing to believe Bailey's words. "No! He's not gone. He-he can't—" Meredith shook her head, feeling sick. She choked on her breath, leaning against his bed, her hand pressed to her chest. "Mer," Alex begins, rubbing her back. "He's gone. We did all that we could—" he says, pulling her into a hug. She sobbed against his chest, her hand clutching his shirt. _

_"Meredith?" _

_"Mer!"_

"Meredith, wake up!"

Meredith jumped awake, her breathing labored. She sat upright, as she looked at Amelia and Maggie looking at her with shared concerned glances. "Hm? What is it?" She asks, shielding her eyes away from the sun pouring in through her curtains. "DeLucas out of surgery. I thought you'd want to catch a ride to the hospital with us," Maggie says, and Meredith presses her hand to her forehead, silently praying. _He was okay. _She just nods as they leave the room, closing the door.

She closes her eyes with an exhaled breath, pulling the covers off her legs as she quickly got ready.

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"So he did okay?"

Meredith held the small necklace around her neck as she stared at Andrew through the window of his room, looking back to Jackson. "Yes. Webber and Bailey said he didn't have any complications and that his spleen suture held up. If he doesn't have brain damage, he should be up in a couple hours." Meredith nodded as she swallowed back the lump in her throat. "What's the chance that he won't wake up?" Meredith asks and Jackson sighs.

"40 percent?"

She lets out a breath, looking at Andrew again. "Good thing is that he's breathing on his own; so no tubes or traches. His x-fixture holding his leg in place is doing well, and he hasn't had any post-op fevers or complications. The odds of him making it through this are pretty good." Jackson squeezes her arm in reassurance. "Don't fret about it, Mer." She nods, watching him walk off before she walks into Andrews room, sitting back in the chair by his bedside. She looked down at her discolored fingers sticking out of her brace, gently holding his hand in hers.

The dream she had last night and this morning had terrified her to no end, making sitting in his room antagonizing. She worried he would start coding or he'd have some complication all of a sudden. She worried she'd lose him, and that she'd be left alone again. She pushed the thoughts away, and instead sighed, watching his chest rise and fall with every one of his small breaths.

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Meredith felt her back begin to stiffen, five agonizingly slow hours already passed. She had thought that maybe, _just_ maybe she should go home until there's any change; Amelia said it could take days for him to wake up, and if he did she wasn't sure he would stay awake. She still clutched his hand, looking down to him. She was about to call it quits, when she felt his hand stir in hers, her eyes snapping up to him. His eyes were still closed, but his throat moved, his head slightly turning.

"H-hey," Meredith says softly with a smile, looking at him with her heart in her throat. His eyes slowly blinked open, squinting as a lazy smile spreads over his cheeks, before he winces in pain. "You're okay. Oh _god_ you're okay," Meredith breathes, staring a him with a watery smile.

"Mm. One hell of a first date, huh?"

A/n: I don't know if I like this chapter lol, but it's sort of like a filler to get to the good stuff again *shrugs* but I am SO sorry it took this long to get up yikes!

I have been super busy but I promise I'll keep updating as much as I can!

P.s: I made a greys anatomy Instagram account, so I'd really appreciate it if you all followed it and gave my posts some love!

User: otpmerluca GO FOLLOW IT PLS!

With all this, reviews are ALWAYS appreciated and welcomed, bc y'all are amazing :) !


	8. Waking

"God, my head _hurts_—"

Andrew winces when he shifts his upper body, his eyes falling to hers. She hadn't moved from his bed side when he woke up a few hours ago, her hand clutching his own discolored one. "You did fall from a three-story height," she says quietly, glancing away from him, feeling the guilt again. "You were Wonder Woman out there, Grey. You saved me—" DeLuca says quietly, squeezing her hand reassuringly. "I don't feel like it," she chuckles dryly, before his hand lets go of hers, and instead cups her cheek. His thumb brushes over the bruise across her cheekbone, his gaze burning her. "Hey," He begins softly, as she glances up to him.

"You saved us. That car would've crushed and killed us. This wasn't your fault—" Andrew says, and she sighs. "My foot hit the gear shift," she begins before he gives her a look. "Because _I'm_ the one who pulled you over the center console like some wild teenager—" he laughs, and she sadly smiles at him with a nod. "This wasn't your fault, it wasn't mine. It happened and we're both okay, which is what truly matters."

She meets his gaze with a slight shake of her head and a smile. "And look what I did to your hand," he chuckles, picking up her braced hand. "Wonder Woman strength," he whispers and she laughs, sniffing a little, the tears in her eyes random and not at all expected. "Sorry," she sighs, wiping her cheeks, "Its just, you scared the crap out of me." He tilts his head with a soft smile, his thumb brushing over her knuckles. "I'm okay, Meredith. See?" He says, motioning to his body. "Aside from a broken leg and arm, I'm okay." She nods. "And aside from a head and arm laceration and temporary hand damage, you're okay too."

She nods again.

"How you feeling?"

Meredith and DeLuca turn to see Carina closing the door, her pitful gaze making Andrew sigh. "I'm feeling fine, just as I was the last time you asked," he chuckles, and she leans against the wall. "You just fell off a cliff, Andrea! I have a right to ask you if you feel good," she says with a shake of her head and Meredith holds back her chuckle. "I'm _fine_. I just—ah—_ow_," Merediths eyes widen when his hand clutches his head, his eyes squeezing shut as he lets out a pained gasp. "Andrew?"

"Andrea?"

He waves his hand at them, motioning for them to not overreact, as he leans his head back. "Page Amelia! Hurry!" Meredith nearly yells at Carina, as she hurriedly nods and runs from the room. Her hand gently rests on his arm, as he swallows roughly, his jaw clenched. "I—I'm okay," he gasps out, but she shakes her head. "You can't even open your eyes, you're not okay," Meredith begins, before the door opens and Amelia and Carina are walking towards them. "What is it? What's wrong?" Amelia asks, as Andrew groans again.

"He clutched his head all of a sudden. He was complaining that it hurt earlier, but I thought nothing of it—" Carina explains, as Amelia leans toward him with a squint. "DeLuca, I'm gonna need you to open your eyes for me," She says, as he groans, slowly opening his eyes. He still squinted as she shone her flashlight in his eyes, before she hums. "You're pupils are dialating normally, and I don't see anything wrong with your monitors—" she says mainly to herself, as she checks his charts. "Post-op headache?" He says and Amelia shakes her head.

"I'm going to order another scan, just to be sure nothing is wrong," she says, exiting from the room with a grimace on her face. Meredith follows her out of the room, grabbing her arm as she leads them into a storage closet. "Mer—what are you doing?" Amelia says with wide eyes as she stares at her. "What was with the face? Is something wrong?" She asks, but Amelia just sighs. "I-I don't," She stutters as Meredith groans. "Words Amelia! Words!"

Amelia braces a hand to her forehead again before she looks to her. "Intercranial bleeds sometimes happen after brain surgery—" She begins before Merediths eyes widen. "He could have an active brain bleed?" She asks with wide eyes, but Amelia shakes her head. "Since I went in microscopically, I could've missed some of the damaged tissue. That's why I'm ordering another scan—which would've already been done if you didn't yank me into a dark room." Merediths grip falls from her arm. "Go!"

Amelia exits from the room, as Meredith braces a hand to her forehead as she slowly inhales. She eventually makes her way back to Andrews room, his eyes shut but his hand no longer clutching his head. Carina was leaned against the wall, her eyes shut too, holding back her emotions. "How is he?" She asks, but Carina's pager went off, as she exits the room.

"_He_ is fine. I'm sure it was just a headache." DeLuca slowly opens his eyes, tilting his head as he gazes at her. "You're not taking this seriously, Andrew. You were in a trauma, don't ignore it or you won't cope with it." She tilts her head with a sigh. "I've been in enough traumas to last twenty lifetimes. When I refuse to cope with them, I run away and have secret babies." Andrews eyebrows crinkle, before she sighs again. "That's not the point. The point is that I need you to realize that the people around you need you."

She went quiet after her words, hating the way his lips slowly spread into a smile. "Are you saying—"

"I said nothing."

"—that you need me around?"

"Was choosing you over Link the right choice?"

"Ouch. Touché."

He chuckles and so does she, as she shoves her hand and her braced hand into her lab coat pockets. "If something hurts, you tell us. You don't have to play Mr. Indestructible around us. Don't ignore any pain." He slowly nods, lifting his hand out. "C'mere." She slowly walks towards him with a look, before stopping beside his bed, grabbing his outstretched hand. "Lower," He says with a slight frown, as she smiles. She sits down into the chair, smiling at him. "Better," He murmurs, before he slowly presses his lips to hers, his free hand cupping her cheek. "You don't ignore any pain, either. That is your Catherine Fox Award Winning hand," he smiles kissing her again, as she leans into his kiss with a chuckle.

"Deal."

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"Good news. What you experienced was a post op brain hemorrhage. It was temporary and you might get a couple more, but it's due to the placement of your brain bleed. It's on the border of your cerebral cortex, meaning you're prone to cephalgias, or headaches." Amelia glances to her with a small nod, and she lets out a sigh of relief. "Told you," Andrew mutters to her with a cocky grin, and she rolls her eyes. "It'll only last a week maybe two, but with plenty of rest and reduced physical activity," Amelia says, gesturing to her with a wink and a grin, "you'll be fine."

"Amelia! We haven't even—"

"We haven't—"

Both of them glance away, before Amelia rolls her eyes. "Like you haven't slept together," she laughs before she raises her eyebrows. "Oh. _Oh_! Just with your track record I assumed—" Amelia begins before Meredith interrupts her. "Amelia get out!" Amelia turns with a chuckle, closing the door behind her. Meredith sighs to herself with a groan, resting her head in her palms. "Track record?" DeLuca asks with a teasing grin, before she shakes her head. "Don't," She says but he doesn't give in.

"Tell me!" He laughs and she glances at him.

"She still thinks I'm a dirty mistress." Andrew laughs aloud, looking at her with a seemingly permanent grin. "A _what_?" She laughs with him, shaking her head. "It was one of my nicknames my intern year," she laughs and DeLuca nods with a chuckle. "But the thing is that I've grown since then," she says and he nods looking at her still. "Do you think if the car didn't—"

"Don't."

She somehow knew what he was talking about, and looked at him sternly. "Do you?" He asks and she chuckles with a shake of her head. "I don't know." She says with narrowed eyes, and he chuckles. "It would've been _way_ better than falling 100 feet."

"Andrew!"

**A/n: agh! I'm so sorry this took forever to get up and I'm also sorry it's shortish :( I've been busy lately and haven't had time to write this (sorry it sucksss)**

**I'm not sure where this is going so imma need to brain storm and move the plot along, but for now enjoy this little thing lol**


	9. Update

UPDATE

I will no longer be continuing this FanFiction :(

**BUT** (yes there's a but !)

I have started a new, more mature and my style of writing on Wattpad of Merluca !

It's called **The Return A MerLuca Story **and my user on there is **otpmerluca. **If you'd like to check it out I have the first chapter posted!! Head on over there and read it and leave a comment if you're from here ! It'll really make my day ! Again, sorry about this one, I just wasn't feeling it anymore and the plot was stuck :(

Thanks for all the reviews and support on here, I extremely appreciate it ALL. You guys are so wonderful and I hope you continue to read some of my stuff on Wattpad :)


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